August 26, 2026 · Business Professions Econ Development · 3,412 words · 17 speakers · 112 segments
All right. Welcome, everyone, to the Senate Business Professions and Economic Development Committee. We are going to start as a subcommittee, as we do not have quorum. Once we establish quorum, we're going to take roll and get on our way. But since we are going to start as a subcommittee, I'd like to make a couple of announcements. We have four bills on today's agenda. A reminder to everyone in this committee, we accept testimony from members of the public and witnesses at the microphone. Everyone will be timed two minutes each, two for the lead support and two for the lead opposition. Me Too's both opposition and support will happen at the same time.
Senator Reyes, if you would like to bring up file item number one, SB 969. Thank you, Madam Chair and members, for this opportunity to present SB 969. The bill updates the regulatory framework for EV charging accuracy testing.
Two seconds. Since we have another member, I'd like to get a roll call and quorum established so we can finish this quicker.
Wahab? Here. Wahab here.
Choi? Here. Choi here.
Archuleta? Here. Archuleta here.
Adagin? Here. Adagin here.
Caballero?
Grayson? Aye. Grayson here.
Menjavar?
Nilo?
Smallwood Cravis?
Strickland? Here. Strickland here.
Umberg?
Thank you. We have established quorum, and out of respect for the author, if you would like to start at the very beginning.
I thank you again, Madam Chair and members, for the opportunity to present SB 969. This bill updates the regulatory framework for EV charging accuracy testing at the Division of Measurement Standards within the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Despite California's climate goals, stakeholders report that the current enforcement for EV charging accuracy varies widely by county, with some areas lacking the resources or capacity to inspect and test chargers. Simply put, the existing process by which these chargers are regulated is slowing EV charger deployment at a time when the state needs rapid expansion. This bill addresses this gap by removing unnecessary barriers to installing and operating new charging stations across California. Under the bill, the counties retain their existing authority to test chargers at their discretion and, most importantly, at the request of a consumer. Amendments taken in the Assembly were negotiated closely with the county sealers who conduct the testing and removed all opposition, and the bill has enjoyed bipartisan support. Here to testify on the bill today are Reid Addis on behalf of the EV Charging Association and Marquise Mason on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Two minutes.
Thank you, Chair and members. Reid Addis on behalf of the Electric Vehicle Charging Association. In strong support today, we are desperately trying to get 300 units installed every day to meet the state's ambitious climate and environmental goals. that's a challenge of one of the key challenges that we've been grappling with is that one of the tools that's used to do in-field or field testing is made by one company and it's terribly expensive so one of the key elements of this bill that we really appreciate is it allows us to do factory testing will help make sure that we expedite the ability to get those 400 units on the ground each and every day thank you very much good afternoon chair members of the committee my name is marquise
King Mason, I'll be speaking on behalf of Natural Resource Defense Council in strong support of SB 969. California's climate, air quality, and clean transmission goals depend on the rapid deployment of reliable EV charging infrastructure. That means drivers need to have the confidence that charging stations are accurate and transparent, but it also means our regulatory framework needs to be practical, scalable, and capable of keeping face with the growth of EV charging. SB 969 strikes that balance. California's existing weights and measures framework was originally designed for traditional fuel dispensing systems. As applied to EV charging, it has created administrative and procedural challenges that can delay charge of deployment and increase costs without always providing consumer benefits. SB 969 makes targeted practical reforms while preserving strong consumer protections. In particular, the bill allows EV charging equipment that has already been factory tested and certified to be placed into service while maintaining registration requirements, inspection authority, and enforcement of accuracy standards. This bill does not eliminate oversight. It helps focus oversight where it matters most on measurement, accuracy, transparency, and consumer trust. Reducing unnecessary costs and delays is especially important in expanding charging access to multifamily housing, workplaces, public space, and other shared charging infrastructure settings. Reliable charging access will determine whether the benefits of transportation and electrication be applied to all or just a few. SB 969 is a common sense reform, and for that reason, we ask for an aye vote. Thank you.
Thank you. Lead opposition witnesses? Seeing none, moving on to Me Too's. Seeing none, we're going to move on to Me Too's.
Thank you, Chair and members. Chris Groggen with Capital IOC on behalf of ChargePoint in support.
Thank you. Thank you. We're going to move on to committee members. Seeing none, would you like to close, Senator?
I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
Thank you. Do we have a motion?
Senator Archuleta moves.
Let's get a vote. Motion is that the assembly amendments be concurred in.
Wahab? Aye.
Wahab, aye.
Choi? Aye.
Choi, aye. Archuleta, aye.
Grayson?
Aye Grayson aye Menjavar Nilo Smallwood Cuevas Strickland I Strickland I Embargo That bill is 6 It's going to be on call until some of our other members join us. We're going to move on to Senator Richardson, file item number 2, SB 1312.
Good evening, everyone. Good evening, everyone. Alright, thank you, Madam Chair and members of this BMP committee. I want to thank you for allowing me to present an update on SB 1312. There are currently 187 private cemeteries in the state of California that are subject to abandonment. These cemeteries that have already been abandoned, the reason why they become abandoned is when a cemetery becomes full, it's no longer profitable. And therefore, that's why oftentimes private owners walk away, leaving cities and municipalities and loved ones without proper maintenance of the cemeteries, the ability to continue their burial rites and to really seek the rest that they had hoped that their loved ones would have had. Abandoned cemeteries quickly also become a public nuisance. They are distressing to families when they see weeds up to my hip. And in my case, we have cemeteries where individuals have actually removed gravestone markers. We found them inside the graves themselves, opening mausoleums to take out jewelry. And now when the volunteers have even attempted to have guard dogs at the facility to guard it during the evening because there isn't money to provide adequate security, the guard dogs have now been killed. We must act now to adopt lacking policy to address the growing issue and ensure that these sacred places are preserved. You might recall last year I had a bill, SB 777. With that bill, Mr. Berman on the Assembly side with BMP had asked that we would do a working group meeting, which occurred in March of this year, that a report would be produced in June. And based upon that is now why we have coming before you today, because we incorporated those meeting notes in SB 1312. We also have worked with the administration, with DCA, the Department of Consumer Affairs, to incorporate their recommendations of how we should move forward with positive policy. Essentially what SB 1312 now will do is it formally defines an abandoned endowment care cemetery, and it also establishes a mechanism for a city, county, or a municipality to declare an endowment care cemetery abandoned so they can begin the process of a title transfer. By doing a title transfer, then we can potentially have a public cemetery district that would then care for the cemetery. With that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote, and I believe the gentleman, Mr. Connolly from the Assembly, has a subsequent bill. I think it's 929 where he wants to add some protections for Marin County,
which I'm in support of as well. With that, I ask for your aye vote.
Thank you. Do we have any lead support witnesses? Lead support. Lead opposition. We are a tweener. Okay, just state your name, your organization, whether you support or oppose.
Okay, Jerry Desmond with the Cemetery and Mortuary Association of California. We're adopting a position as we speak, but we see this as a positive measure coming out of the work group process.
Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Do we have any lead opposition? No. Senator Strickland.
I just want to thank the senator. I know how much you've worked on this issue and working through this. And with that, I'd like to move the bill.
Thank you. Thank you, Senator Archuleta.
Thank you for bringing it back, all the work you've done, Senator. My concern is just a question, intimate domain. How is it that the county or the city is going to absorb ownership, and at what point is that declared because it becomes a nuisance? Is that a city council issue, county issue? So then we can begin the process to secure and start to maintain it for those loved ones that have lost their relatives and so on, and now they can go and visit and have a more of a beautiful setting that I'm hoping will happen because of funding and the ability to bring up the level and the stature of that lost cemetery.
That's an excellent question, and that's actually the whole point of 1312, is to establish what qualifications need to be determined to say that the cemetery is abandoned. Things like how long the property has been vacant, how long there has been in terms of people there providing security, is maintenance being provided, are burial services being provided. The Department of Consumer Affairs is the one that oversees the actual endowment account and are aware each year a cemetery needs to produce their annual report. So once it gets to the point, and that's the whole point of 1312, Once it gets to the point where they are no longer adhering to the rules, even including such as paying taxes on their property, that's what gives the county, city, municipality the ability to transfer the title. Once they transfer the title, then that's when we can establish how the work can begin. So that the whole point of the bill and to give the DCA Department of Consumer Affairs the authority to then say yes the cemetery is abandoned and yes now the county or city can take it over.
Thank you.
Once again, thank you for your work on this and of course I'll be supporting it. Thank you.
Senator Shui.
My question is that how we can prevent future cemeteries from becoming the same condition And the second question is that what if the city or the county in that local jurisdiction over that property refuses to take it over? What happens?
Excellent question. So as you know, this is my part two of this issue, and next year I'll be coming with part three. Yes, the goal is that once the DCA would deem that, yes, the cemetery is in what we call abandoned status, meaning the private owner is no longer operating the cemetery, and it could then the title be transferred, if the county were to refuse, we do hope in the bill, since now the municipality would have access to the endowment funds, we're hoping that they would willingly accept. because they don't want to accept that they're going to be, excuse my French, stuck with an asset, a cemetery, without the resources. So now that that has been determined, what exists is what's called LAFCO. LAFCO has the ability to then assign it to a public cemetery district. It's our hope there, if the public cemetery that exists doesn't want it, then a new public cemetery would be established. But now we're going into when you'll see me next year of the next steps.
Thank you.
Some cemeteries may have endowment fund left over, which is a positive sign. But will there be any property with some kind of liabilities that the county or city will have to take over when they take over the property? Excellent question.
a part of the bill says that the city, county, municipality, or public cemetery district would not incur any liabilities of what the private owner did. So if the private owner did not provide appropriate maintaining of the grave area, if things were lost, if they didn't do proper burial services, the entity that takes it on would not assume any liability for him. Thank you.
That was a very important point. Thank you. We have a motion by Senator Strickland. Could I get a vote? Motion does that the Assembly amendments be concurred in.
Wahab? Aye.
Wahab, aye.
Choi? Aye.
Choi, aye.
Archuleta? Aye.
Archuleta, aye.
Adeguin?
Caballero?
Grayson? Aye.
Grayson, aye.
Menjivar? Aye.
Menjivar, aye.
Nilo?
Smallwood Cuevas? Aye.
Smallwood Cuevas, aye.
Strickland? Aye.
Strickland, aye.
Ember.
Thank you for your support.
Thank you. Appreciate it. Senator Grayson, if you would like to present SB 700, file item number three.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair, committee members. SB 700 provides stopgap funding for a program created back in 2022 by our dear colleague from Merced and our current Pro Tem. This bill provides the state treasurer with additional flexibility in supporting small businesses through the Capital Programs and Climate Financing Authority. SB 700 would add to the list of authorized funding activities the California Investment and Innovation Program, or Cal IIP. Cal IIP is the state's mechanism for supporting community development financial institutions that we all know as CDFIs. CDFIs do amazing work across our state in supporting affordable housing, small business growth, and underserved communities. In three years, CalIIP has been active. We have seen incredible results that my witness will expound on, but we are nearing the point of exhausting available funds. Using the authority provided in this bill, we can fund another partial round of grants to support our CDFIs. This bill has no opposition and has received unanimous bipartisan support. When the time comes, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
Thank you. Do we have a lead when it is okay? Two minutes timed.
That's me. I won't even take two minutes. Rachel Muller, Director of Advocacy for the California Coalition for Community Investment. Excuse me. I hear on behalf of SB 700, as Senator Grayson pointed out, this is a straightforward measure that gives the state treasurer additional flexibility to use existing state dollars to support the California Investment and Innovation Program. CDFIs across the state, including those in underbanked and underrepresented communities and districts, use this funding to support community development projects like small businesses, affordable housing, child care, access, and health care. Just wanted to say thank you so much and respectfully ask for an ad vote.
Appreciate it. Anybody else? Seeing none. Opposition? Seeing none. Me too. All right. Do we have a motion? Thank you. Senator, would you like to close?
Respectfully ask for an ad vote.
Really appreciate all your work on this. Let's get a roll call vote. Motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in.
Wahab? Aye.
Wahab, aye.
Choi? Aye.
Choi, aye.
Archuleta? Aye.
Archuleta, aye.
Adagin?
Caballero?
Grayson? Aye.
Grayson, aye.
Menjivar? Aye.
Menjivar, aye.
Nilo?
Smallwood Cuevas? Aye.
Smallwood Cuevas, aye.
Strickland? Aye.
Strickland, aye.
Umberg?
All right. That bill is on call. We would like for sergeants to request that Senator Umberg present himself and also Assemblymember Conley to present all right Assemblymember Conley a file item number 4 AB 929 anytime Thank you Thank you
Good evening, Chair and members. I want to start by thanking Chair Wahab and the committee staff for working with my office to hear this bill. This one is extremely important to my district. I'm pleased to present AB 929, which will allow the county of Marin to transfer ownership and management of the Mount Tamalpais Cemetery, located in San Rafael, to either a California nonprofit organization or a licensed cemetery authority. Following actions by the Attorney General and the Cemetery Bureau, the state revoked the cemetery's license in 2025. This is due to years of neglect, financial impropriety, and mismanagement by the owner. Right now, families must personally maintain the graves of their loved ones in overgrown grounds, damage and difficult to locate grave sites, and unsafe conditions. The county of Marin participated in the state working group established following passage of SB 777, authored by Senator Richardson, as you know, last year to identify solutions for abandoned private endowment care cemeteries. The recommendations from the Bureau helped inform SB 1312, which I believe you just heard, which we initially thought would help fix the issues at Mount Tam Cemetery. Unfortunately, it was late in the session when we realized we needed very specific language to address the unique situation in Marin County, which brings us to the need for AB 929. Because the county of Marin cannot take on long-term ownership or management of Mount Town Cemetery, they have been working with the City of San Rafael, community organizations, faith groups, and other partners to transfer the property to either a non-profit or a licensed cemetery authority. AB 929 authorizes the county to pursue this process and importantly, temporarily protects a successor from liabilities created by the prior owner, since they will have to fix decades of neglect. This bill only applies to Mount Tamapai Cemetery, sunsets January 1, 2029, and only becomes operative if SB 1312 is enacted. With me to testify and support is Dylan Elliott speaking on behalf of Marin County.
You have two minutes.
Thank you very much. Good evening, members. I hope I will take drastically less than that. First and foremost, I want to say Dylan Elliott here today on behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, sponsors of AB 929, strong support. Appreciate Assemblymember Connolly and his leadership on this issue. This is a really, really narrow bill specific to Marin County and Mount Tamalpais. It's got no opposition. Sunsets in 2029. I'm happy to answer any questions, but urge your support. It means a lot to the community.
Thank you. Any other lead support? Seeing none, opposition? Seeing none, me too's? Name, organization, and whether you support or oppose.
Jerry Desmond, Cemetery Mortuary Association of California. The bill was just amended today. We anticipate support. We see it as a positive measure for Marin that could go forward for the rest of the-
Support? Thank you. Thank you. If we can get committee members. Thank you. Would you like to close?
I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
Thank you. Can we get a roll call? Motion is due pass to the Senate floor.
Wahab? Aye. Wahab, aye. Choi? Aye.
Choi, aye. Archuleta? Aye.
Archuleta, aye. Adagin? Caballero? Grayson? Aye.
Grayson, aye. Menjabar? Aye.
Menjabar, aye. Nilo? No. Nilo, no. Smallwood, Cuevas? Aye.
Smallwood, Cuevas, aye. Strickland? Aye.
Strickland, aye. Umberg?
Please call Caballero. Caballero? No.
Okay, but for Conley. You wanted to say what it is? AB 929? Give it two seconds. Yeah. I'll go through them again. The fourth one. File item number four. Aye. Aye. Cover your eye. All right. Eight to one. Eight to one. That bill's out. Going to file item number one. call absent members SB 969 Cronvote 6-0 Caballero Caballero I Menjivar Menjivar I Nilo Nilo I Smallwood Cuevas I Umberg all right that bill's out what is it 10-0 File item number two. Current votes seven to zero. Adagin. This is 1312. Adagin. Caballero. Aye. Caballero aye. Nilo. No. Nilo no. Umberg. Eight to one. Eight to one. That bills out. File item number three, SB 700. Current votes seven to zero. Adeguin, Cabrero. Aye. Cabrero, aye. Nilo. Aye. Nilo, aye. Umberg. Okay, that's nine to zero. Nine to zero. That bill is out. We are officially done. I do want to thank all of the members that presented and were here. And again, thank you to our committee staff. Really appreciate it. I need to do something.